Okay, “challenge” was right. Based on what else I’ve seen from the other entries, this tangle confounded a lot of people. But a challenge I wanted and a challenge I accepted. I chose to do this as a Zendala, divided sort of like the first steps of the tangle — the circle is quartered and the top left and bottom right quarters are divided horizontally again. In each section, I tried a variation on the basic tangle. Going counterclockwise from the bottom left:

For this I used a sort of radial grid. That sort of angular S shape is the one that came out the most to me, so that’s what I colored in.

I did the least with this section, and it came out (I think) the best. Maybe there’s a lesson in that somewhere? I just did a more or less straight take on the pattern then colored in alternating cells, Knightsbridge style. Looking at it now, it seems like I got the 3d pop that I was going for in other sections without really trying to. If I ever use this tangle again, I think I’ll stick to this varietal. Also, I filled in the shapes with an extra-fine tip Sharpie from a set I got for Christmas and I like how it came out.

This was my attempt at a ribbon/border version of the tangle. I’m not altogether displeased with how it turned out, although I’d probably do it much smaller given the chance.

This was my first idea with the tangle. I was trying to get the Q*Bert style steps that I saw in this pattern when I first took a look at it, but I don’t feel like they really came out the way I wanted.

This one is a lot like section 2, but with different coloring, and now that I think of it I’m not a hundred percent sure I remember what pattern I was doing.

When I drew this, the hatchmarks were supposed to be lining the front of some steps. But now when I look at it, all I can see is the hatchmarks as the back of the steps. It’s hurting my head to think about it.

I will freely admit that I had a lot more fun with this one. Again Joey assigned tangles I probably wouldn’t have chosen on my own: Tipple, Fescu, and Buttercup and again I found a way to enjoy them. I tried out a negative-image thing with the Fescu and I’m pleased with how it turned out — the ones on the right were drawn with Sharpie; the left side was outlined with my regular pens then filled around with the Sharpie. I had the most fun with Buttercup, which I decided to draw in a crazy warped grid thing. Pretty wild, right?

The other sections include three patterns suggested by the number “3”: the triangle-based Phroze and Tringle, and the number-3-containing-in-name 63y. I intentionally did 63y “wrong” — you’ll notice that the cells don’t line up into hexagons. I like it this way.

In the middle is JaJazz, in disguise: Instead of filling in the rounded triangles as usual, I filled around them in alternating cells. I like it a lot. The ribbon across the top is a kind-of original tangle I’m calling “Just Lala.” I suppose it’s really just a sort of tangleation of Eke.

But where, you might ask, is the Tipple? Well, I guess I kind of cheated — I used it as filler around the corners of the JaJazz, in some of the cells in 63y and in some of the triangles in Tringle.